The Effects of Tobacco
The smoking of tobacco became prevalent early in this century. The production of flue-cured tobacco, the development of cigarette rolling machines, and a public health concern over tuberculosis germs being spread through the cuspidors associated with snuff and chewing tobacco, all contributed to an increase in cigarette smoking.
As smoking became more common, health problems emerged which seemed to be related to smoking. In the 1950’s, sir Richard Doll, a British researcher, studied the smoking habits of more than 34,000 physicians and found a strong correlation between smoking and disease. Throughout the 1950’s, research data on the effects of tobacco on human health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action." Since then, each Surgeon General has spoken out against smoking; the current Surgeon General proclaims smoking to be the number one preventable cause of disease and death. Medical science is in general agreement that use of tobacco endangers one’s health.
Lung Cancer was the first health effect to be linked to smoking. Subsequent research has linked tobacco usage to heart disease, emphysema, and several other forms of cancer. Recent research has even suggested harmful effects to unborn children of smokers and to those non-smokers exposed to the side-smoke of smokers.
One of the benefits of a free society is the freedom of choice for adults, so long as this freedom does not deprive other persons of their freedom The decision to smoke might appear to be one of those choices, since it is usually through that the health risks of smoking are borne largely by the individuals making the choice.
Factors that complicate the simplicity of this argument are: 1) Smoking is a social custom and when one person smokes, other persons in the area are exposed to the smoke. 2) Adult smoking habits provide a powerful modeling which affects the habits of children and youth. 3) Society must bear some of the social cost (increased insurance premiums and various tax burdens) of death and disability brought about by the use of tobacco.
The tobacco plant is believed to have originated in the Western Hemisphere. The cultivated species most often grown for North American and European tobacco products is Nicotiana tabacum. The leaves of the plant are prepared for smoking, chewing, or sniffing. In addition nicotine tobacco contains over 19 known carcinogens (most collectively known as "tar") and more than 2,000 chemicals.
Prior to European influence in the Americas, tobacco was used by the Indians of Mexico and Peru for ceremonies, medicinal purposes, and to alleviate Error! Bookmark not defined.
Tobacco is the common name of the plant Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica, found in the Nightshade family. It is a green, leafy plant and is known for the nicotine that lies within its leaves. Tobacco has more than 70 different species, but only two are used today. The most popular is N. tabacum and it has never been found to grow in the wild. Today, tobacco is smoked, chewed, and snuffed. It is grown throughout both North and South America. In the United States, its grown in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.
To summerize, the discovery of tobacco in the Americas had lasting effects on the world. Across Europe, many began smoking because of the belief that tobacco was able to cure certain ailments. Also, tobacco became a symbol of high class so we see that many middle class people began to smoke. The demand in Europe for tobacco became very high causing the production of tobacco in the Americas to increase. Colonies were set up containing large plantations with many slaves to produce tobacco. Tobacco production made the producers very rich as the cash crop was very desirable. From the use of tobacco in ceremonies for the Aztecs and Mayans to the mass production of the crop in the Americas, tobacco created much change across the world.
Borio, Gene, “Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949—The Rise of the Cigarette.” Chapter 6. 1993-2003.
Tobacco is an american crop that is in the same family as the potato. It is said that tobacco began growing in the Americas around 6,000 B.C.E. and was used by native Americans as early as 1 B.C.E.! Tobacco was not commonly chewed, and not even smoked. For religious reasons it was burned and was danced around. The Native Americans believed it to be a gift from their creator. They also believed that tobacco had healing attributes, capable of healing anything, in addition to being a pain killer. It was very popular in remedying various ailments. The Native Americans were a people who praised tobacco not only of religious but also medical reasons. They also passed this on to the England pioneers looking for the journey into their lands. The Native Americans gladly gave them presents of this kind.
They argue that it is their body and they are have the right to choose what they want to do. Since smoking cigarette don’t cause people to get high or drunk that they can hurt other people, smokers believe that smoking is safe and risk free. For those smokers who knows the risk in smoking, they argue that smoking reduce the chances of being obese. I understand that people have the right of their free will but getting lung cancer is not the best way to avoid obesity. By banning cigarettes, the government is not taking away smoker’s free will but they are making necessary action to their population. Most of the smokers will quit if they could and most of the smokers start at a young age without knowing the effects of smoking. Banning cigarettes reduce the death rate of lung cancer and heart disease since they are mostly caused by smoking. The government will save over 100 billion in the next 10 years that used from the smokers medical bills. This money can be put to education, transportation and other expenses. There is many ways that smokers can benefit from the government banning smoking cigarettes. A pack of cigarette cost $20 dollars and regular smoker’s smokes at least a pack a day. That amount of money can be saved and be used for more
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Smoking Smoking is an addicting habit on the rise worldwide. Smoking across the globe has many different forms from cigarettes and cigars to pipes and shisha’s. There are many different reasons for smoking whether it is for medicinal reasons or recreational use. Smoking has been around for a very long time and in this essay I will discuss the origins of smoking, the serious health risks, economical burdens, the addicting materials as well smoking among teenagers. Despite efforts from governments and organizations to bring awareness to people across the globe of the serious dangers and implications of smoking, the number of smokers worldwide generally remains on the rise. Brief History Of Smoking Smoking in one form dates back to as early as 5000 BC. It was used in shamanistic rituals to allow the users to achieve a state of trance and connect with the spirit world. Cannabis smoking quickly spread through Africa and the Middle East almost 3000 years ago. Smoking was sighted in England as far back as 1556 and then spread to France in 1560. Tobacco was then brought into Africa by French traders in the early 1600’s. Tobacco at that time was chewed or smoked. Around that time many religious leaders banned smoking and considered it immoral and even blasphemous. The first machine made to produce cigarettes was made by James Bonsack in 1881 after the civil war. The negative effects of smoking were brought to public attention in 1929 by the paper published linking cancer and smoking. During the Great Depression and in Nazi Germany, Hitler viewed smoking as unnecessary and a waste of money and also that woman who smoked as unsuitable to be mothers and wives. After the Second World War, anti-smoking groups lost popularity and smoking increas...
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
Explorer and diplomats such as France's Jean Nicot (for whom nicotine was named) used it and popularized it. Tobacco was introduced to France in 1556, Portugal in 1558, Spain in 1559, and England in 1565 (History of Tobacco.). Tobacco was used for pipe smoking on large scale and triggered smoking since then (History of Tobacco.).
The primary reason to why smoking is wrong is the detrimental effect that it can have on a person’s health. A man or woman with a pack of cigarettes is like a naïve teenager with a phone in a car. Both have been recorded to have led to the deaths of 45 000 people in the United States and about 2 million people in the world per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking dramatically increases the risk of lung cancer heart disease and other health risks. It is a habit that history has seen take the lives of many universal icons such as Louis Armstrong, who died from heart disease and Babe Ruth who died from oral cancer caused by smoking. The health risks of smoking are not exclusive to a small group of people; it is something that can ...
Cigarette smoking dates back to the early 19th century in Central America. The cigarettes were in the form of reeds and smoking tubes. People like the Mayas and the Aztecs could smoke during religious rituals. Among the Mexicans, Caribbean and the Central and Southern Americans smoking was in the form of cigarette and the cigar. Different plant wrappers were used in the Central and Southern America to roll the cigarette while in Spain they used maize wrappers. Cigarette is believed to have reached France in 1830 and this is where it gained the name cigarette. It is only after the Crimean War that the use of tobacco cigarette gained populace in the English speaking nations. Generally, widespread cigarette smoking could largely be credited to the 20th century in the Western world.
Even though it is widely known that tobacco is known as a risk factor for many diseases, it should not negate the fact that using legal tobacco products is a choice made by an individual; the rights to freedom of choice should not be stripped due to the fact the policies limit the accessibility or availability of tobacco. Tobacco companies use the argument of individual rights, viewing "that people have a right to smoke—that is, they have no obligation not to smoke" (Katz, 2005). For example, the outcome risk for tobacco may parallel that of prohibiting ideas as unhealthy foods and unsafe activities such as, junk food, alcohol, skydiving, swimming etc. (Harbor, 2002). An individual is entitled to making their own decisions about what they put into their own bodies, especially if that product is globally legal, based on the information available to them, which tobacco companies directly supply. For these reason or freedom of choice of a legal substance, it is believed that tobacco should not be limited by policy to the global
Smoking is a simple process of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning tobacco, but it has deadly consequences. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in America today (Encarta, 2002). Until the 1940?s, smoking was considered harmless. It was at this time that epidemiologists noticed a dramatic increase in the cases of lung cancer. A study was then conducted between smokers and nonsmokers to determine if cigarettes were the cause of this increase. This study, conducted by the American Cancer Society, found increased mortality among smokers. Yet it was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General put out a report acknowledging the danger of cigarettes. The first action to curb smoking was the mandate of a warning on cigarette packages by the Federal Trade Commission (Encarta, 2002). In 1971, all cigarette advertising was banned from radio and television, and cities and states passed laws requiring nonsmoking sections in public places and workplaces (Encarta, 2002). Now in some cities smoking is being completely banned from public places and workplaces and various people are striving for more of these laws against smoking.
Cigarette smoking is a danger to our life and health. It is the leading known cause of lung cancer. Each year more than 30,000 people will die of lung cancer and 4 out of 5 of them will get it because of cigarette smoke.
Scientists and health officials have been arguing the detrimental effects smoking has on our health for many years. Smoking can lead to serious complications including asthma, pancreas, lung and stomach cancer due to the large number of carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) and other various substances added to it. It is a health hazard for both smokers and non-smokers and it is especially harmful to unborn babies. Although smokers claim that it helps them to relax and release stress, the negative aspects of the habit take over the positive. As it has been stressed by the scientists and experts, there are some very severe reasons of smoking but its crucial consequences should also be taken into consideration.